ABSTRACT
The previous three chapters reviewed research findings that could easily be couched in terms of the causes of false remembering, illusory recollection, or monitoring processes. Some variables, such as associative strength and number of studied associates, were believed to have their effects predominantly on the encoding of information that will cause false remembering (via associative activation, thematic consistency, or feature overlap). Other variables, such as study format and study repetitions, were believed to have their effects predominantly on the encoding of information that will help to reduce false remembering (via diagnostic or disqualifying monitoring processes). Needless to say, these processes are all interrelated, and whether a variable was discussed in one or the other context depended on the net result (i.e., whether false remembering increased or decreased), which in turn depended on the specific conditions of the task.
